NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-08-24

 Two major decisions in military court-martials today. At Joint¹ Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was handed the sentence of life in prison without parole. He had apologized yesterday for massacring 16 civilians² in Afghanistan last year. NPR's Martin Kaste describes the response from several victims of the attack. 

Some of the Afghans were flowing for this trial, spoke³ to the priest outside the court room. They were all males, mainly men and a few boys. There boys clearly, one boy who had been shot in the leg by Sgt. Bales and he actually showed his scar to the media. They took turns, talked about how upset they still were, how they basically thought that this was not justice, that anything short of the death penalty was not justice. 

NPR's Martin Kaste ar Fort Hood⁴, Texas, army psychiatrist⁵ Major Nidal Hasan has been convicted of murder in a November 2009 shooting rampage. Hasan  was accused of opening fire at the military base killing⁶ 13, wounding more than 30. At trial he acted in his own defence, but former military judge Geoffrey Corn, a professor at South Texas College of Law, does not believe that it affected⁷ the verdict. 

"But never was in doubt, even if he had been represented by his very able and capable defense⁸ lawyers, he still would been convicted of all sentences." 

Hasan could be sentenced to death. President Obama says violence in Egypt heightens concerns about the continuation of military aid to that nation, something the Obama Administration is still evaluating. NPR's Ari Shapiro has more. 

Some leading Republicans in Congress say it's time for the U.S. to make a firm decision on whether it will continue sending money to Egypt's military. President Obama told CNN that even if the U.S. cuts off that funding, it may not make a huge difference. 

"The aid itself may not reverse what the interim⁹ government does... But I think what most Americans would say is that we have to be very careful about being seen as aiding and abetting¹⁰ actions that we think run contrary to our values and our ideals." 

He went on to say "we can’t return to business as usual, given what’s happened." Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington. 

The Commerce Department is reporting the sales of newly built homes drop 13.4% to a seasonally¹¹ adjusted annual rate of 394,000. That's the lowest pace in nine months. Mark Zandi,chief economist¹² at Moody's Analytics, blames rising mortgage rates. 

"It's showing that the high mortgage is doing damage, / the housing market and this is important to the economic recovery because we need housing to really kick into a higher gear." Mark Zandi at Moody's. 

On Wall Street, the Dow up 57. This is NPR. 

President Obama is in no rush to condemn¹³ the National Security Agency to spy new revelations. The Intelligence Agency scooped¹⁴ up as many as 56,000 e-mails and other communications annually¹⁵ over three years by Americans not connected to terrorism. President said today the action was inadvertent. 

Civil rights advocates and scores of organizations and activists¹⁶ from around the country are gearing up for the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. NPR's Allison Keyes reports. 

From NWACP to the International Brotherhood¹⁷ Of Teamsters, people are preparing for a host of events commemorating¹⁸ the August 28th, 1963's march that which the late Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. In a march set for this Saturday, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates such as Reverend Darlene Nipper at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force say they join the civil rights movement and the work still to be done. 

"Our histories, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said himself, are indelicately linked." 

Activists are focused on pressuring law-makers for new voting rights legislation, job creation and fighting / laws among many other issues. Allison Keyes NPR News Washington. 

It looks like Philadelphia healthy Chinese take-out Initiative is yielding some results. As a result of the effort, Chinese restaurant in the city are replacing heavy sodium¹⁹ content with chilies²⁰ or garlic instead of salt. They have also modified cooking methods and reduce distribution of soy source packets. More than 200 take-out Chinese restaurants are participating. Early result shows sodium in some dishes reduced by as much as 20%. 

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

5 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

10 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网

11 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

12 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

13 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

14 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

16 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

18 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

19 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

20 chilies   

n.红辣椒( chili的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some people like to harvest the plants, when the chilies are green. 一些人喜欢在辣椒长成绿色的时候就采摘。 来自互联网
• Sprinkle with scallions and sliced chilies and served hot. 洒上葱粒、辣椒丝，趁热上桌。 来自互联网